Disposable thermally insulated cup and blank therefor

ABSTRACT

A container blank comprises at least one substrate layer made of disposable material and at least one film layer disposed substantially over the substrate layer and having at least one portion adapted to shrink away from the substrate layer upon application of heat. The shrunk film layer portion is adapted to thermally insulate the substrate layer located substantially behind the shrunk film layer portion.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation under 37 C.F.R. §1.53 (b)(1) ofco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/613,834 which was acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/797,949, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,464,856, which claims the benefit of issued U.S. Pat. No.6,729,534, which is a continuation of issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,657,which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/306,757, filed Jul. 20, 2001, by the same inventor and having commonAssignee, the contents of the prior pending application, three patents,and Provisional application are incorporated herein in their entirety byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to container blanks and moreparticularly to a blank for a disposable thermally insulated containersuch as a paper cup.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Disposable paper cups with heat insulating capability are a desirableand widely used commodity. These types of cups are designed for hotliquid contents such as hot coffee/tea/chocolate and tend to maintainthe liquid contents' temperature by preventing undesirable heat transferfrom the hot liquid contents inside the cup to the cup holder's handholding the cup. These cups may also be used for cold liquid contents inwhich case the insulated walls of the cup help maintain the cold liquidcontents' temperature by preventing undesirable heat transfer from thecup holder's hand to the cold liquid contents.

Thermally insulated cups come in various known configurations. Forexample, an insulated cup is disclosed in Amberg et al. (U.S. Pat. No.3,737,093) which uses a plastic cup placed within a paper cup to createair space therebetween for thermal insulation purposes. Anotherinsulated cup is disclosed by Iioka (U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,344) whichcoats a paper cup with a thermoplastic synthetic resin film which issubsequently heated to form a foamed insulating layer. Neale et al.(U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,068) deals with a cup insulation layer formed fromsyntactic foam, a type of foam which incorporates insulating particlesheld in place by a binder. The insulating particles may contain an airspace.

None of the known insulated cups, however, is an effective thermalinsulator. Furthermore, none of the known insulated cups can bemanufactured at low cost on a wide scale due to complexity offabrication, high cost of materials, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to a container blankcomprising at least one substrate layer made of disposable material andat least one film layer disposed substantially over the substrate layerand having at least one portion adapted to shrink away from thesubstrate layer upon application of heat. The shrunk film layer portionis adapted to thermally insulate the substrate layer locatedsubstantially behind the shrunk film layer portion.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparentfrom a review of the accompanying drawings and the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is generally shown by way of example in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1A is a side plan view of a first disposable insulated cup blankcomprising shrink film which is pattern adhered to a paperboardsubstrate in a first sealing pattern in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 1B is a partially cut away front perspective view of a disposableinsulated cup formed from the blank of FIG. 1A in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 1C is a cross sectional view taken along line 1C-1C of FIG. 1B;

FIG. 2A is a plan view of a second disposable insulated cup blankcomprising shrink film which is pattern adhered to a paperboardsubstrate in a second sealing pattern in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2B is a partially cut away front perspective view of a disposableinsulated cup formed from the blank of FIG. 2A in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 2C is a cross sectional view taken along line 2C-2C of FIG. 2B;

FIG. 3A is a plan view of a third disposable insulated cup blankcomprising shrink film which is pattern adhered to a paperboardsubstrate in a third sealing pattern in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 3B is a partially cut away front perspective view of a disposableinsulated cup formed from the blank of FIG. 3A in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 3C is a cross sectional view taken along line 3C-3C of FIG. 3B;

FIG. 4A is a plan view of a fourth disposable insulated cup blankcomprising shrink film which is pattern adhered to a paperboardsubstrate in a fourth sealing pattern in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 4B is a partially cut away front perspective view of a disposableinsulated cup formed from the blank of FIG. 4A in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 4C is a cross sectional view taken along line 4C-4C of FIG. 4B;

FIG. 4D is a partially cut away front perspective view of a disposableinsulated cup formed from the blank of FIG. 4A in accordance with analternative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4E is a partially cut away front perspective view of a disposableinsulated cup formed from a modified blank of FIG. 4A in accordance withanother alternative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4F is a partially cut away front perspective view of a disposableinsulated cup formed from the modified blank of FIG. 4E in accordancewith yet another alternative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is side perspective view of a roller used in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a rotary heat sealing process inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of an adhesive lamination processin accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of an extrusion coating process inaccordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, some preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the related drawings of FIGS. 1-8.Additional embodiments, features and/or advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from the ensuing description or may be learned by thepractice of the invention.

In the Figures, the drawings are not to scale and reference numeralsindicate the various features of the invention, like numerals referringto like features throughout both the drawings and the description.

The following description includes the best mode presently contemplatedfor carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in alimiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing thegeneral principles of the invention.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention andas generally shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, an elongated cup blank 14 (FIG. 1A)used to form a disposable thermally insulated cup 15 (FIG. 1B) isconstructed from a paperboard substrate 20 having a strip ofheat-activated shrink film 22 pattern-adhered to one side along aplurality of generally vertical seal lines 24. Heat-activated shrinkfilm suitable for practicing the present invention may be of theuniaxial or biaxial shrink film type which is available commerciallyfrom shrink film manufacturers such as DuPont® Corp. of Wilmington, Del.One example of a biaxial shrink film is DuPont® CLYSAR ABL® industrialshrink film. A uniaxial shrink film may be produced, for example, usingan extrusion coating technique described hereinbelow in reference toFIG. 8.

In general, biaxial shrink films are preferred for performance reasons.However, uniaxial shrink films provide satisfactory performance and aregenerally easier to apply in extrusion laminating and coating processes.The generally flat vertical sealing band pattern depicted in FIG. 1Aextends between what will be an open cup top 16 (FIG. 1B) and a closedcup bottom 18 (FIG. 1B) of disposable thermally insulated cup 15. In oneexample, seal lines 24 may be spaced apart by about one inch with a sealline thickness of about one-sixteenth of an inch. Other seal lineconfigurations may be utilized provided such other configurations do notdepart from the intended purpose of the present invention.

Elongated cup blank 14 has (opposing) side edges 21, 23 (FIG. 1A) whichare sealed together along a generally elongated seam 19 (FIGS. 1B-1C) toform disposable cup 15 (FIG. 1B) with the pattern adhered shrink film 22remaining on the interior side of the cup. The exterior side of cup 15may have decorative graphics (not shown). The formed cup is then,preferably, run through an oven at sufficiently high temperature and fora period of time enough to cause heat-activated film 22 to sufficientlyshrink, or pull away from paperboard substrate 20 (between seal lines24) so as to form outwardly (away from the interior side of the cup)bulging and generally vertical air pockets 30 (FIGS. 1B-1C) whichcontinuously run from bottom 18 to top 16 (of cup 15) over seam 19 andthermally insulate the entire exterior side of cup 15 from hot liquidcontents such as hot coffee, tea or the like. Actual amount of shrinkagewould also depend on film thickness. In general, care should beexercised to pick a gauge of heat-activated shrink film which would formpocket walls that do not easily puncture during normal use.

A person skilled in the art would readily recognize that thermallyinsulated disposable cup 15 of FIG. 1B may also be used to insulate acup holder's hand from ice-cold contents, e.g. ice-cold soda, water, andthe like.

In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present inventionand as generally shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, an elongated cup blank 34 (FIG.2A) used to form a disposable thermally insulated cup 35 (FIG. 2B) isconstructed from a paperboard substrate 39 having heat-activated shrinkfilm 42 adhered to one side along a plurality of generallycriss-crossing seal lines 44. The sealing pattern depicted in FIG. 2Aextends between what will be an open cup top 36 (FIG. 2B) and a closedcup bottom 38 (FIG. 2B) of disposable thermally insulated cup 35. In oneexample, criss-crossing seal lines 44 may form generally flat one-inchsquare or diamond-like pattern (FIG. 2A) with a seal line thickness ofabout one-sixteenth of an inch.

Elongated cup blank 34 includes side edges 31, 33 (FIG. 2A) which aresealed together along a generally elongated seam 37 (FIGS. 2B-2C) toform disposable cup 35 (FIG. 2B) with the pattern adhered shrink film 42remaining on the interior side of the cup. The exterior side of cup 35may have decorative graphics (not shown). The formed cup is then,preferably, run through an oven at sufficiently high temperature and fora period of time enough to cause heat-activated film 42 to sufficientlyshrink, or pull away from paperboard substrate 39 (between seal lines44) so as to form outwardly (away from the interior side of the cup)bulging air pockets 40 (FIGS. 2B-2C) which generally run from bottom 38to top 36 (of cup 35) over seam 37 and thermally insulate the entireexterior side of cup 35 from hot liquid contents such as hot coffee, teaor the like. The newly formed thermally insulated disposable cup 35 mayalso be used to insulate a cup holder's hand from ice-cold contents.

In accordance with yet another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention and as generally shown in FIGS. 3A-3C, an elongated cup blank49 (FIG. 3A) used to form a disposable thermally insulated cup 55 (FIG.3B) is constructed from a paperboard substrate 59 having heat-activatedshrink film 52 adhered to one side via a plurality of seal spots or dots54. The spot sealing pattern depicted in FIG. 3A extends between whatwill be an open cup top 56 (FIG. 3B) and a closed cup bottom 58 (FIG.3B) of disposable thermally insulated cup 55. In one example, seal spots54 may form a generally flat ¾-inch square pattern (FIG. 3A).

Elongated cup blank 49 includes side edges 51, 53 (FIG. 3A) which aresealed together along a generally elongated seam 57 (FIGS. 3B-3C) toform disposable cup 55 (FIG. 3B) with the pattern adhered shrink film 52remaining on the interior side of the cup. The exterior side of cup 55may have decorative graphics (not shown). The formed cup is then,preferably, run through an oven at sufficiently high temperature and fora period of time enough to cause heat-activated film 52 to sufficientlyshrink, or pull away from paperboard substrate 59 (between seal spots54) so as to form outwardly (away from the interior side of the cup)bulging air pockets 60 (FIGS. 3B-3C) which generally run from bottom 58to top 56 (of cup 55) over seam 57 and thermally insulate the entireexterior side of cup 55 from hot liquid contents. The newly formedthermally insulated disposable cup 55 may also be used to insulate a cupholder's hand from ice-cold contents.

In accordance with still another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention and as generally shown in FIGS. 4A-4C, an elongated cup blank61 (FIG. 4A) used to form a disposable thermally insulated cup 65 (FIG.4B) is constructed from a paperboard substrate 69 having heat-activatedshrink film 62 adhered to one side along a plurality of generallyhorizontal seal lines 64. The sealing pattern depicted in FIG. 4Aextends between what will be an open cup top 66 (FIG. 4B) and a closedcup bottom 68 (FIG. 4B) of disposable thermally insulated cup 65. In oneexample, generally horizontal seal lines 64 may be spaced apart by aboutone inch forming generally flat, elongated and parallel horizontal bands63 (FIG. 4A) with a seal line thickness of about one-sixteenth of aninch.

Elongated cup blank 61 includes side edges 67, 74 (FIG. 4A) which aresealed together along a generally elongated seam 70 (FIGS. 4B-4C) toform disposable cup 65 (FIG. 4B) with the pattern adhered shrink film 62remaining on the interior side of the cup. The exterior side of cup 65may have decorative graphics (not shown). The formed cup is then,preferably, run through an oven at sufficiently high temperature and fora period of time enough to cause heat-activated film 62 to sufficientlyshrink, or pull away from paperboard substrate 69 (between seal lines64) so as to form outwardly (away from the interior side of the cup)bulging and generally horizontal air pockets 72 (FIGS. 4B-4C) which runalong the interior of the cup from bottom 68 to top 66 (of cup 65) overseam 70 and thermally insulate the entire exterior side of cup 65 fromhot liquid contents such as hot coffee, tea or the like. The newlyformed thermally insulated disposable cup 65 may also be used toinsulate a cup holder's hand from ice-cold contents.

In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present inventionand as generally illustrated in FIG. 4D, an elongated cup blank (notshown) comprising a paperboard substrate 82 having heat-activated shrinkfilm 84 adhered to one side along a plurality of generally horizontalseal lines 86 is used to form a disposable thermally insulated cup 80(FIG. 4D). The horizontal sealing pattern depicted in FIG. 4D preferablyextends between an open cup top 88 and a closed cup bottom 90. In oneexample, generally horizontal seal lines 86 may be spaced apart by aboutone inch so as to form generally flat, elongated and parallel horizontalbands 92.

The opposite side edges of the cup blank are sealed together along agenerally elongated seam 94 (FIG. 4D) to form disposable cup 80 with thepattern adhered shrink film 84 remaining on the interior side of thecup. The exterior side of cup 80 may have decorative graphics (notshown). The formed cup is then, preferably, run through an oven atsufficiently high temperature and for a period of time enough to causeheat-activated film 84 to sufficiently shrink, or pull away frompaperboard substrate 82 (between seal lines 86) so as to form outwardly(away from the interior side of the cup) bulging and generallyhorizontal thermally insulating air pockets 96 (FIG. 4D).

As generally depicted in FIG. 4D, thermally insulating air pockets 96,preferably, run in the vertical direction along the interior of the cupfrom cup bottom 90 to cup top 88. In the horizontal direction, thermallyinsulating air pockets 96, preferably, run continuously along theinterior of the cup on each side of elongated interior seam area 95(which includes centrally seam 94), i.e. thermally insulating the entireexterior side of cup 80 except for the elongated exterior side areadirectly behind elongated interior seam area 95 (not shown). In thiscase, the disposable cup user should avoid touching the exterior side ofdisposable cup 80 in the area directly behind elongated interior seamarea 95 as this area is not thermally insulated.

FIG. 4F shows a disposable cup 100 which is similar in construction tocup 80 of FIG. 4D except that cup 100 has been provided with a singlegenerally horizontal thermally insulating air pocket 102. Insulating airpocket 102 is preferably wider than its corresponding middle insulatingair pocket 96 of FIG. 4D to provide greater insulation area and isadhered generally centrally to the interior surface of cup 100 on eachside of an elongated interior seam area 106 (which includes centrally aseam 108). Horizontal air pocket 102 only provides thermal insulationcoverage for the exterior surface of cup 100 located behind it with theexception of the elongated exterior side area located directly behindseam area 106 (not shown). Therefore, the disposable cup user shouldavoid touching the exterior surface of disposable cup 100 in any areasnot covered by horizontal thermally insulating air pocket 102 as suchareas are not thermally insulated.

FIG. 4E depicts a disposable cup 110 which is similar in construction todisposable cup 100 of FIG. 4F except that cup 110 has been been providedwith a single generally horizontal thermally insulating air pocket 112which provides greater thermal insulation coverage. Specifically,insulating air pocket 112 is attached generally centrally to theinterior surface of cup 110 over a seam 114 so as to provide continuousthermal insulation coverage over the corresponding exterior surface areaof the cup (not shown). The disposable cup user should avoid, however,touching exterior surface areas (of disposable cup 110) located directlyabove and below the thermal insulation area provided by horizontal airpocket 112 as such areas are not thermally insulated.

In one test conducted by Applicant, a 75 gauge DuPont® CLYSAR LLG®polyethylene shrink film, which is similar to DuPont® CLYSAR ABL®industrial shrink film, and a paperboard stock of basis weight of about143 lb/3000 sq. ft. and thickness of about 0.0128 inch were used asstarting materials for forming the disposable thermally insulated cup ofthe present invention. Paperboard stock of this type may be purchasedfrom Georgia-Pacific Corporation of Atlanta, Ga., which manufactures thestock at its Naheola mill. The CLYSAR LLG® shrink film was heat-sealedto the Naheola paperboard stock using an impulse heat sealer which canbe a VERTROD CORP® MODEL 20A®, 1200-watt, heat sealer. A heat setting of“6” was used. The resulting disposable cup blank has a generallyhorizontal seal pattern, as shown in FIG. 4A. The straight side edges ofthe disposable cup blank were then brought together in an overlappingconfiguration and sealed on a bench fixture. The bench fixture holds theblank in a conical configuration while the seam area is heated and thenclamps the seal, holding it in place until cooled. The seal areas wereheated with a Wagner® model HT1000, 1200 watt, heat gun. The truncatedcone (without top curl or bottom) was placed in a forced air oven atabout 260° F. for about 10 seconds to force the film to shrink or pullaway from the paperboard so as to produce the desired thermal insulatingpockets. Five-second and thirty-second oven tests at the sametemperature were also conducted. However, the five-second oven testresulted in insufficient film shrinkage, while the thirty-second oventest resulted in cone distortion due to excessive film shrinkage. Bestresults were achieved with an oven residence time of about 10 seconds. Asilicone RTV sealant was used to seal the bottom of the cup in place.The cup bottom may also be heat-sealed into place. The cup bottommaterial used was paperboard stock of basis weight of about 120 lb/3000sq. ft. and thickness of about 0.0113 inch. The paperboard was extrusioncoated with about 20 lb/3000 sq. ft. of low density polyethylene (LDPE).Top curl was added later in the process.

The above-described novel disposable thermally insulated cup may be massproduced using several commercial sealing methods such as, for example,rotary heat sealing (FIG. 6), adhesive lamination (FIG. 7), andextrusion coating (FIG. 8). All three methods employ a roller 120comprising a solid generally cylindrical body 122 having a plurality ofgenerally raised, cup blank-shaped regions 123 on its outer surface, anda shaft 124, as generally illustrated in FIG. 5. Raised, cupblank-shaped regions 123 are generally oriented in rows in a back/forthpattern to minimize material usage. The resultant pattern requires thatso-called scroll (zig-zag) slitting be used later in the manufacturingprocess. The cup blank-shaped regions may come in a single pattern or ina variety of patterns and are raised for printing, heat sealing, or forapplying pressure during extrusion coating. Specifically, the raisedpatterns on cylindrical body 122 are used to form the various seallines, seal spots described hereinabove.

As generally depicted in FIG. 6, a moving shrink film 126 and a movingpaperboard stock 128 are brought together in the nip formed by heatedroller 120 and a pressure roller 130. Heated roller 120 and pressureroller 130 heat-seal shrink film 126 onto paperboard stock 128 in thevarious patterns of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A producing a web of heat-sealedpatterns 132 from which elongated cup blanks will be cut (FIG. 6).

The adhesive lamination technique generally shown in FIG. 7 uses roller120 essentially as a flexographic printing or application roller toapply adhesive 134 to shrink film 136 which rides around a roller 138.Adhesive 134, which is contained in a pan 133, is applied to applicationroller 120 via a conventional anilox roller 121 which is in rotationalcontact with application roller 120. Anilox roller 121, which is dippedto a certain extent in adhesive pan 133, picks up adhesive 134 fortransfer to application roller 120. A blade 135 is also provided, asgenerally shown in FIG. 7, to automatically scrape away excess adhesivefrom anilox roller 121 during operation. The shrink film with theapplied adhesive is then laminated to a moving paperboard stock 140 inthe nip formed by film roller 138 and a pressure roller 142 in thevarious patterns of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A producing a web of adhesivelysealed patterns 144 from which elongated cup blanks will be cut (FIG.7).

The extrusion coating technique of FIG. 8 uses roller 120 as animpression roller. Specifically, an extrusion die 146 applies acontinuous stream of polymer melt 148 to a moving paperboard stock 150in the nip formed by impression roller 120 and a chill roll 152 (FIG.8). Chill roll 152 turns polymer 148 from liquid form to a film at thesame time as the polymer is being adhered to moving paperboard stock 150by impression roller 120 in the various patterns of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4Aproducing a pattern-adhered web 154 from which elongated cup blanks willbe cut (FIG. 8).

Alternatively, a heated mandrel having at least one undercut section andraised ridges (not shown) may be used to heat-seal shrink film onto thepaperboard stock. The resulting cup blank may include, for example, asingle centrally located insulating band which can be used to formdisposable thermally insulated cup 100 of FIG. 4F. In this regard, amandrel heated to about 240° F. was used by Applicant to produce aprototype disposable thermally insulated cup of the type shown in FIG.4F.

In general, the following manufacturing steps may be used to produce thenovel disposable thermally insulated cup. Step 1 involves printing ordecorating one side of the paperboard stock, this side will be used toform exterior cup sides. Step 2 deals with pattern-adhering of theshrink film onto the opposite side of the paperboard stock to produce apattern-sealed web using one of the above-described techniques, i.e.extrusion coating, rotary heat sealing, or adhesive lamination. Thisside will be used to form the interior cup sides. The end result is aroll of paperboard stock with pattern-adhered film which is then takento a slitter. The slitter cuts the paperboard stock/pattern-adhered filmroll into narrower rolls corresponding to the width needed to cut aseries of cup blanks (Step 3). The slit rolls are then placed one at atime on a cup-making machine which forms the entire cup, i.e. cuts thecup blanks from the rolls, seals the side seams, attaches cup bottoms,and applies top curls (Step 4). Step 5 includes placing the formed cupsin an oven at sufficiently high temperature and for a period of timeenough to cause the pattern-adhered film to sufficiently shrink, or pullaway from the paperboard stock so as to form the thermally insulatingair pockets described hereinabove and shown, for example in FIGS. 1B,2B, 3B, 4B, and 4D-4F. After that the thermally insulated disposablecups are taken out of the oven and cooled at ambient (room) temperature(Step 6). The cooled thermally insulated disposable cups are thenshipped to customers or stored by the manufacturer for future shipment(step 7).

In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, above-described steps 5-6 may be avoided entirely if the filmused in above-described pattern-adhering step 2 is capable ofautomatically shrinking or pulling away from the interior paperboardwall of the cup at a temperature range of about 180°-190° F. so as toform thermally insulating air pockets, i.e. after the pouring of a hotliquid such as hot coffee, tea, or the like. Hot coffee temperature, forexample, is generally in the same range, i.e., 180°-190° F. In thisregard, the following two experiments were performed by Applicant toprove that hot liquids can be used to effect shrinking of suchheat-shrinkable films on the interior of disposable cups.

A DuPont® Clysar ABL® 200 shrink film was sealed with a Vertrod® impulseheat sealer to the top and bottom of a cup blank which was polyethylene(PE) coated on both sides. The cup blank was then heat-sealed into atruncated cone into which a bottom was sealed with RTV (room temperaturevulcanizing) silicone. The truncated cone was not top curled.Thereafter, water at about 190° F. was poured into the conical shell. Itwas subsequently found that the film had shrunk only if it contained apinhole or if it had been intentionally pre-slit. In the areas wherethere was no break in the film, partial vacuum had developed whichprevented the film from shrinking or pulling away from the interior wallof the conical shell. The pre-applied PE coating on the two sides of thecup blank prevented air intrusion between the shrink film and theinterior (PE-coated) wall of the conical shell. To alleviate the partialvacuum problem, a series of pinholes were punched through the cup blank(to allow air intrusion) prior to heat-sealing the shrink film to thepaperboard stock and the experiment was repeated. This time thepattern-adhered film shrunk sufficiently (after the pouring of hotwater) to automatically form the desired thermally insulating airpockets.

A person skilled in the art would recognize that other types of shrinkfilms capable of performing at other hot liquid temperature ranges maybe utilized to achieve the above results provided such other types ofshrink film do not depart from the intended purpose of the presentinvention. A person skilled in the art would also recognize that theabove results may be achieved using uncoated paperboard stock orpaperboard stock that is coated only on one side with PE. Otherconfigurations and/or modifications may be used, providing no departurefrom the scope and spirit of the invention occurs.

A disposable cup with a pattern-adhered insulating shrink film interiorcapable of automatically shrinking, or pulling away from the interiorwall of the cup after pouring a hot liquid so as to form thermallyinsulating air pockets would only be suitable for insulating a cupholder's hand from hot contents. Pouring of cold liquids in such a cupwould not trigger any film shrinkage and should, therefore, be avoided.In general, the manufacture of such disposable cups, i.e. cups that arecapable of automatic heat-insulation, should be preferred from amanufacturer's point of view due to reduced cost of manufacture(above-described steps 5-6 being omitted) which would translate into areduced overall cost, and reduced overall volume of nested or stackedcups which can be advantageous for storage and/or shipping purposes.

A person skilled in the art should recognize that the above-describednovel disposable cup provides improved thermal insulation capabilityover known disposable insulated cups. The novel disposable cup alsoexhibits no tendency to soften (i.e., deform) under hot liquid contentsas, for example, conventional foam cups tend to do. Moreover, the noveldisposable cup may be manufactured with higher quality graphics(decoration) on its exterior side compared to known disposable cupswhich tend to have a so-called “blistered” outer surface which distortssomewhat the applied graphics. The above-described novel disposablethermally insulated cup manufacturing process may be employed in anyfield or application where effective thermal insulation capability isrequired. An alternative application may include cushioning capabilityfor packaging, and the like.

While the present invention has been described in detail with regards tothe preferred embodiments, it should also be appreciated that variousmodifications and variations may be made without departing from thescope or spirit of the invention. It is important to note thatpracticing the invention is not limited to the applications describedhereinabove. Many other applications and/or alterations may be utilizedprovided that such other applications and/or alterations do not departfrom the intended purpose of the present invention.

It should further be appreciated by a person skilled in the art thatfeatures illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be usedin another embodiment to provide yet another embodiment such that thefeatures are not limited to the specific embodiments described above.Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover all suchmodifications, embodiments and variations as long as such modifications,embodiments and variations come within the scope of the appended claimsand their equivalents.

1. A beverage container, comprising: (a) a sidewall having an outersurface and an inner surface as well as one or more perforations toallow air intrusion; and (b) at least one air pocket formed on saidinner surface by at least one strip of shrink film being coupled to saidinner surface in at least one pattern and adapted to pull away from saidinner surface of said sidewall according to said at least one patternupon application of heat sufficient to form said at least one airpocket, said at least one air pocket thermally insulating a portion ofsaid outer surface located directly behind said at least one air pocket.2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the shrink film issecured to the inner surface of said sidewall with a plurality ofgenerally parallel equally spaced seal lines extending from the lowerportion of the sidewall to the upper portion thereof such that theshrunk film provides a plurality of generally parallel, generallyvertically oriented thermally insulating air pockets extending from thelower portion of the sidewall of the container to the upper portion ofthe sidewall of the container.
 3. The container according to claim 1,wherein the shrink film is secured to the inner surface of said sidewallwith a plurality of generally criss-crossing seal lines defining adiamond-like pattern extending from the lower portion of the sidewall tothe upper portion thereof such that the shrunk film provides a pluralityof thermally insulating air pockets on both the lower portion of thesidewall of the container and the upper portion of the sidewall of thecontainer.
 4. The container according to claim 1, wherein the shrinkfilm layer is secured to the inner surface of said sidewall with aplurality of generally equally spaced seal points on both the lowerportion of the sidewall and the upper portion thereof such that theshrunk film provides a plurality of thermally insulating air pockets onboth the lower portion of the sidewall of the container and the upperportion of the sidewall of the container.
 5. The container according toclaim 4, wherein the shrink film layer is secured to the inner surfaceof said sidewall with a plurality of generally equally spaced sealpoints arranged in a square pattern.
 6. The container according to claim1, wherein the shrink film layer is secured to the inner surface of saidsidewall with a plurality of generally parallel equally spaced seallines extending across the lower portion of the sidewall and the upperportion thereof such that the shrunk film provides a plurality ofgenerally parallel, generally horizontally oriented thermally insulatingair pockets extending circumferentially around the sidewall of thecontainer on both the upper and lower portions of the sidewall of thecontainer.
 7. A beverage container, comprising: (a) a sidewall extendingbetween a closed bottom and an open top, said sidewall having an outersurface, an inner surface, and a substantially elongated seam areadefined between said closed bottom and said open top as well as one ormore perforations to allow air intrusion; and (b) at least onesubstantially horizontal air pocket formed on said inner surface by atleast one strip of shrink film being coupled to said inner surface in atleast one pattern and adapted to pull away from said inner surface ofsaid sidewall according to said at least one pattern upon application ofheat at a temperature range sufficient to form said at least onesubstantially horizontal air pocket, said at least one substantiallyhorizontal air pocket adapted to cover said substantially elongated seamarea and to thermally insulate a portion of said outer surface locateddirectly behind said at least one substantially horizontal air pocket.8. A beverage container, comprising: (a) a sidewall extending between aclosed bottom and an open top, said sidewall having an outer surface, aninner surface, and a substantially elongated seam area defined betweensaid closed bottom and said open top as well as one or more perforationsto allow air intrusion; and (b) at least one substantially horizontalair pocket formed on said inner surface by at least one strip of shrinkfilm being coupled to said inner surface in at least one pattern andadapted to pull away from said inner surface of said sidewall accordingto said at least one pattern upon application of heat sufficient to formsaid at least one substantially horizontal air pocket, said at least onesubstantially horizontal air pocket adapted to thermally insulate aportion of said outer surface located directly behind said at least onesubstantially horizontal air pocket except for said substantiallyelongated seam area.
 9. The beverage container of claim 8, wherein heatis applied at a temperature range of about 180°-190° F.
 10. A containerblank, comprising: (a) a substrate layer made of a disposable materialsuitable for forming a sidewall of a container, wherein the substratelayer has an interior and an exterior as well as one or moreperforations to allow air intrusion; (b) a shrink film layer havingupper and lower portions corresponding to their relative positions onthe sidewall of the container, secured to the interior of the substratelayer on both the upper and lower portions of the shrink film layer,wherein the shrink film layer is adapted to shrink away from thesubstrate layer upon application of heat thereto, thereby providing ashrunk film layer secured to the interior of the substrate layer on boththe upper and lower portions of the shrink film layer after heat isapplied to the shrink film layer; and whereby the shrunk film layerprovides at least one thermal insulating pocket between the substratelayer and the shrunk film layer and wherein the shrunk film layer issecured at both its upper and lower portions to the container sidewall.11. The container blank of claim 10, wherein the shrink film is capableof automatically pulling away from the interior of the substrate layerat a temperature range of about 180°-190° F.
 12. The container blankaccording to claim 10, wherein the shrink film layer is a biaxiallyoriented shrink film.
 13. The container blank according to claim 10,wherein the shrink film layer is a uniaxially oriented shrink film. 14.The container blank according to claim 10, wherein the shrink film layeris secured to the inner surface of the substrate layer by a methodselected from the group consisting of extrusion coating, rotary heatsealing, and adhesive lamination.
 15. The container blank according toclaim 10, wherein the shrink film layer is secured to the interior ofthe substrate layer with a plurality of generally parallel equallyspaced seal lines extending from the lower portion of the shrink filmlayer to the upper portion thereof such that the shrunk film provides aplurality of generally parallel, generally vertically oriented thermallyinsulating air pockets extending from the lower portion of the sidewallof a container made from the blank to the upper portion of the sidewallof the container made from the blank.
 16. The container blank accordingto claim 10, wherein the shrink film layer is secured to the interior ofthe substrate layer with a plurality of generally criss-crossing seallines defining a diamond-like pattern extending from the lower portionof the shrink film layer to the upper portion thereof such that theshrunk film provides a plurality of thermally insulating air pockets onboth the lower portion of the sidewall of a container made from theblank and the upper portion of the sidewall of the container made fromthe blank.
 17. The container blank according to claim 10, wherein theshrink film layer is secured to the interior of the substrate layer witha plurality of generally equally spaced seal points on both the lowerportion of the shrink film layer and the upper portion thereof such thatthe shrunk film provides a plurality of thermally insulating air pocketson both the lower portion of the sidewall of a container made from theblank and the upper portion of the sidewall of the container made fromthe blank.
 18. The container blank of claim 17, wherein the shrink filmlayer is secured to the interior of the container blank with a pluralityof generally equally spaced seal points arranged in a square pattern.19. The container blank according to claim 10, wherein the shrink filmlayer is secured to the interior of the substrate layer with a pluralityof generally parallel equally spaced seal lines extending across thelower portion of the shrink film layer and the upper portion thereofsuch that the shrunk film provides a plurality of generally parallel,generally horizontally oriented thermally insulating air pocketsextending circumferentially around the sidewall of a container made fromthe blank on both the upper and lower portions of the sidewall of thecontainer made from the blank.